Niche markets, or specialized areas of demand for a product or service, are key to generating an income whether it be an online or offline business. We are going to discuss a very simple concept that will allow you to identify a pet related niche and how you can then use that niche to generate more income.

Let’s start with the very basic category of pets. If you decided to sell pet products on the internet, this category would be very broad and would immediately put you in competition with extremely large online and bricks-and-mortar suppliers like Petsmart.com for example. So, rather than competing with companies that have been around for many years and will definately have greater advertising and financial resources than you have, you will want to dig a little deeper and find a niche that you can focus on while building your business.

Some people immediately think that by focusing on a smaller niche that they are limiting their number of potential customers. That is true to a certain degree. However, it is often far more profitable to have a smaller group of customers that truly want what you have to offer than a larger group that is being bombarded by hundreds of your competitors.

So, let’s get back to our primary category of pets. We have already determined that this group is way too large and that you will need to be more specific. Here are some possibilities…

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The retail luxury sector continues to see accelerated growth with Neimans, Nordstroms, etc. all reporting significant increases over last year and many exceeding targeted expectations. The demand for luxury in all categories is projected to increase well into 2006. This trend carries into the pet industry with a growing demand for interesting designs, fabrications and style. The customer that is buying from key designers such as Dolce & Gabanna, Armani, Chanel, and Gucci are all clients that buy because of what the brand represents. Quality, style, design, sophisticated taste level and recognition in the marketplace. This is the customer that represents the true luxury market.

The luxury sector of the pet industry has been targeted as a category with the most growth. True niche luxury products are beginning to surface in the pet industry due to the trend in the marketplace and the increase in consumer demand. Pet carriers are a prime example. Two years ago, the highest price point on many websites for a pet carrier was $199.00. Now, the category has grown due to demand with price points now from $400 – $600. The requirements of dog carriers today are for Italian Leather, quality hardware and workmanship in the construction of the bag. Carriers are now doubling as a handbag as well as a dog carrier. This has resulted in the need to raise the standards on pet carriers to accommodate the luxury client. Fashion, quality, function have now become synonymous with what a pet carrier must represent.

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I ran across an article this past week and thought you might find it interesting. Even the very offline service of Dog Washing is going online – check it out!

If you have a business and haven’t got a website on the Internet, you’re pretty much crazy. I don’t want to sound judgmental but you must be either really behind the times, or just plain scared to get yourself onto the Web. If it is the latter, the fear is an irrational one, having a website is only going to do great things for your life.

Have you seen how many computers there are in the world today? Look at how much they’ve now been integrated into everyday human culture and society. Everywhere you go there are Internet cafes and computer retailers, people with mini-computers on the train, or laptops at the local park (receiving wireless broadband Internet). If you can’t see, hear, taste, smell, and feel the opportunity in having a website for every one of your potential customers to visit, you must be catatonic, drunk, or insane. If you truly do fall into one of these three categories, I’m really sorry, but if one day you do find a balanced state of life again, please check out the Internet and see what it is doing for people all around the world.

OK, let’s give you an example of how this works. Say you own a small dog washing business. You’ve got a good client-base built simply from an advertisement in the Yellow Pages and from people seeing your shopfront on the street. You make a good living, so why would you want or need to get a website?

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One of the major keys to making money with an online pet business is by developing your own Pet Specific Theme Sites or Niche Sites. I have heard it as both of these and also as the phrase “Community Building.” No matter what you call it, the principle is the same. If you want a successful business online, you have to become valuable to your visitors.

When other pet owners think of a certain subject, whether it be Labradoodles, ferrets, tropical fish, etc., you want them to think of you. For example, when you think of books online, what comes to your mind? For many of us, it is http://www.amazon.com because they have a made a name for themselves in this area.

When prospects visit your site, is it valuable enough to them that they stop and bookmark it? Do they continue to visit your site week after week? Whenever they want to know about __________, do they visit your site?

Too many pet related websites are either one quick sales presentation and it’s over, or one long rambling pet love fest with no way to monitize the visitors. If you can’t convince your visitors of your value in your targeted market, then you will not ever reach your goals in your online business.

Below is a quick 7 step system to help you develop your “Pet Specific Theme Site” online!

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If you read up on trends in business or home business, then you’ve probably seen quite a few articles recently on the pet industry. To put it briefly, more and more people are owning more and more pets. The figures are amazing, both in terms of numbers of pets owned and amounts spent on pets.

According to the APPMA (the American Pet Products Manufacturer’s Association), pet spending in the United State alone, has more than doubled from $17 billion in 1994 to about $38.4 billion in 2006. And spending is not just on basics like food or routine veterinary care.

APPMAs National Pet Owners Survey shows 27% of dog owners and 13% of cat owners buy their pets birthday presents, and 55% of dog owners and 37% of cat owners buy their pet holiday presents. High-end retail goods and services such as pet spas and hotels, pet therapy and expanding veterinary services such as joint replacement surgeries and delicate eye procedures are becoming more common.

Baby boomers (whose children have grown up “empty-nesters”) and young professional couples (who delay having children in favor of careers), are fuelling much of the growth in spending. They turn to pets to fill the void and often consider their furry companion a best friend or member of the family.

So what does this mean for you?

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